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Walnut Ice Cream With Brandywine Caramel Sauce

Total Time

1hr

Prep 30 mins

Cook 30 mins

This recipe is from the San Francisco Chronicle. I thought people would enjoy using up their abundance of summer tomatoes in diverse ways - so here's a dessert! The ice cream and sauce are very rich, so you will want small servings.

The Ice cream

The sauce

Directions

For the ice cream: Preheat oven to 325° (300° for convection oven). Place nuts on a pan, then toast until dark and golden, 15-20 minutes. Let cool, then grind until fine in a food processor.

In a saucepan, heat the cream and 1/2 cup sugar to just below the boiling point. Add the ground nuts and let steep at room temperature for at least an hour, or until a strong walnut flavor has permeated the cream. Pour through a coarse strainer into a large plastic bowl, then pour again through a fine-mesh strainer such as a chinois into another large plastic bowl.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, mix 6 tablespoons sugar with the powdered milk, and slowly add the whole milk, whisking constantly until the powdered milk is dissolved. Place over high heat until it's just below the boiling point.

Place yolks in a large bowl. Add a ladleful of the hot milk mixture to the yolks and mix well. Add about a third of the hot milk to the bowl with the yolks and stir. Pour the contents of the bowl into the pot with the milk and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the milk begins to steam.

Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the walnut-infused cream. Cover and chill until completely cold, 3 hours or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

For the caramel sauce: Cut the tomato into large pieces and process in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer. Measure out 1/2 cup puree; set aside any extra.

Combine 1/4 cup water and the sugar into a broad, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook over high heat until the sugar is a tawny golden color. Turn off the heat and add the tomato puree. Do this carefully and step back in case of any of it splatters.

When the foaming eruption has subsided, stir the caramel mixture with a wire whisk, turning the flame back on if necessary, until all of the candy threads have melted into the caramel. Remove from heat and let cool. Taste for tomato flavor intensity and add any extra puree, if desired.